Tobias Partners

Drill Hall House

Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander

Drill Hall House 

Tobias Partners

ARCHITECTS
Tobias Partners

PROJECT ARCHITECT
Julia Cumines

MANUFACTURERS
Sky-frame, Vitrocsa, Subzero/wolf, Viabizzuno, Vola, 2 Barrows, Thom, Toung N Groove

LANDSCAPE
Secret Gardens

PROJECT PRINCIPAL
Richard Peters

ENGINEERING
Partridge

BUILDER
Alvaro Bros

PHOTOGRAPHS
Justin Alexander

YEAR
2019

LOCATION
Australia

CATEGORY
Houses

Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander

The restoration and adaption of a 1905 former army drill hall in Sydney’s Inner West, involved the careful interweaving of the building’s original details and material palette with contemporary additions to create a relaxing home to suit the new owners.

Although the original building had been altered substantially and unsympathetically in the 1990s by former owners, key elements remained intact or salvageable so the design approach was twofold:

restore and reconstruct the drill hall’s key details; and introduce new architectural elements that responded to the brief, the form of the existing building and the site.

Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander

Key design moves involved restoring the front façade, side elevations, slate roof, interior roof form, steel roof trusses and double-height volume, before carefully stitching in new spaces and opening the building up to the landscaped garden.

An over-scaled brick archway frames the entry at street level with large timber doors opening into the main hall where living, dining and kitchen areas flow together, and connect with the large north-facing terrace and garden.

Perched at either end of the main hall within the existing roofline, two new lofts accommodate a guest suite and study, both opening on to northern terraces inset within the roofline.

Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander

Downstairs at the garden level, the lower ground area was entirely rebuilt to accommodate a private media room, main bedroom, and ensuite with adjacent casual living area, which opens to a large garden with new trees and landscaping around the renovated pool.

Taking its cues from the form and materiality of the original drill hall and the site’s ideal north-south aspect, spaces open up to the breezes and the light, and are defined by well-built and simple and honest materials which complement the integrity, history, and volume of the original building.

Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander


Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander
Drill Hall House
© Justin Alexander


Drill Hall House
Concept diagram
Drill Hall House
Concept diagram


Drill Hall House
Concept diagram
Drill Hall House
Garden level floor plan


Drill Hall House
Street level floor plan
Drill Hall House
Mezzanine level floor plan

Tobias Partners
T +61 2 93614800
Tobias Partners
27 Renny St, Paddington NSW 2021, Australia